Plants with pest control properties in Pamotan, Rembang Regency, Central Java Province: inventory and identification (Indonesia)

English. The economic crisis also hit hard the agricultural sector, as production inputs such as synthetic chemical pesticides and fertilizers became expensive and at times hard to get. But the ingenious and innovative thinking of the farmers were sometimes proven invaluable. They look back at the practices inherited from their ancestors: using plant materials as botanical pesticides as well as compost. While earlier the farmers were told that botanicals' use promotes safer environment and cleaner products, later they chose the alternative with more economical consideration. Unfortunately they have little, if available, records and notes regarding these promising plant materials. Not much have been done in the past to identify and record the kinds of plant and plant materials with pesticidal properties. This study was done based on this premise. Rembang regency in north-eastern Central Java is a region with diverse area, starting from low coastal land to woody tropical hills. The farmers living in the area has long known the use of botanicals, but not as intensive as during the present (the year 1998-2000). The systematic and thorough inventory and identification of such botanicals, however, has yet to be done. Therefore a survey was conducted in Kecamatan Pamotan, Rembang regency, by attending the village gathering, talking to elders and leaders, and through snowball effect method collecting information from farmers who use botanicals to protect their crops. Visit to the field and woods to identify the plants were also carried out. The result is records on the kinds, relative number, the use and other important facts which may serve as the basis for further improvement of these environmentally friendly practices.

English. Krisis ekonomi yang melanda dunia dan Indonesia juga mempengaruhi sektor pertanian, karena sarana produksi seperti pestisida kimia dan pupuk menjadi mahal dan susah didapat. Namun banyak petani Indonesia yang ternyata mampu bertahan karena kreativitas dan kejeliannya. Praktek tradisional menggunakan bahan tumbuhan untuk pupuk atau pestisida dihidupkan kembali. Jika semula para petani agak enggan menggunakan bahan semacam itu karena alasannya "hanya" keseimbangan dan keselamatan lingkungan sekarang praktek tersebut dijalankan karena biayanya lebih rendah. Sayangnya catatan dan dokumentasi mengenai jenis bahan tumbuhan yang bersifat pestisidal tidak banyak dijumpai di negeri kita. Oleh karena itu dilakukan suatu kajian sigi untuk mencoba mengumpulkan dan mencatat jenis bahan tumbuhan yang bermanfaat pestisida dari wilayah Kabupaten Rembang, Jawa Tengah. Wilayah ini dipilih karena keanekaragaman lingkungannya, dari lahan pantai ke bukit-bukit. Juga petani di wilayah ini telah lama mengenal penggunaan bahan tumbuhan untuk melindungi pertanamannya. Sigi diselenggarakan di Kecamatan Pamotan, yang memiliki topografi bervariasi. Cara penyelenggaraannya adalah dengan menghadiri pertemuan desa, mengumpulkan keterangan dan informasi dari tokoh-tokoh petani desa, dan melalui metode efek bola-salju mengumpulkan petani-petani lainnya untuk diwawancarai. Dilakukan pula pencarian dan inventarisasi jenis tanaman yang dipergunakan petani. Hasil sigi berupa catatan tentang jenis tumbuhan, keberadaan dan cara penggunaannya yang diharapkan dapat membantu mengembangkan pemanfaatan bahan tumbuhan sebagai pestisida.